ATC: Kitty's Love Affair
by Dakota Kid
Summary: What happened between Kitty and Matt after Will Stambridge left?
1. Chapter 1

ATC: Kitty's Love Affair

I think the title says it all here. I did not particualary care for this episode because Kitty was so darn close to walking away…I just know that she was. (Sigh) but all was well in the end right? This starts right before Matt and Kitty walk to the Longbranch together.

Matt hadn't seen Kitty much since she had returned home from the stage with that Will fella. Inside he had been madder than hell, and had wanted to kick Will Stambridge out of town just because he could but after he had thought about it, thought of all the times that he had cancelled plans with Kitty in the past 18 years he just couldn't do it. He _wanted_ Kitty to be happy but he certainly didn't want her to be happy with another man. Deep inside he hoped that she would come back to him, Will Stambridge being nothing more than a passing fancy. Now standing on the boardwalk watching her bid farewell to to the said man, Matt smiled inside. He was glad to see the gunfighter leaving and Kitty staying.

After the stage carrying Stambridge left, Kitty walked towards Matt. Whe she reached him she said, "I know a woman who could use a drink."

Matt looked at her, his beautiful redheaded lady and smiled slightly. Thumbs hooked in his belt loops he leaned back a little and looked at her, "Well I know a man who willing to buy one." He took her arm and lead her across the busy Front street to the Longbranch. No words were spoken between the long time couple and to look at them you wouldn't know that they had just spent an emotional and physical time apart. The longest ever if one really sat down and thought about it. Sure they had been apart physically so many times that the day probably amounted to years now but they had only been apart emotionally once, and that time was now an old wound, slightly scared and healed over with years of time.

Once in the Longbranch Kitty asked her long time bar tender and friend, Sam, to bring something for both her and Matt. They went to their normal table and after Kitty was seated, Matt pushed his hat back and sat across from her. The bar was empty now, except for them and Sam, so Matt waited until the other man set their drinks down in front of them and moved to the far end of the bar before he said, "I've missed you Kit."

Kitty looked up and smiled, sadly. "That's good. I'd say that I missed you as well but Matt, I'm still not sure of how I feel."

Matt reached his hand across the table and gently squeezed Kitty's before he broke the contact. "I understand Kitty. I want you to know that I'm willing to give you all the time and space you need but I think we need to discuss this too."

Again Kitty gave Matt the small, sad, smile. "I know Matt. How about tomorrow night, dinner in my room. That will give me plenty of time to think about, well, things."

Matt nodded in agreement and then they finished their beer in silence. He would give Kitty the time and space she needed if it killed him.

After their drinks were finished Matt rose, settled his hat back down on his head and said "I'll see ya later Kitty."

Kitty who had not rose smiled at the phrase, one that she had heard so many times over the past years. Just hearing that and watching the familiar figure walking away from her made her wonder what she had really seen in Will Stambridge in the first place. Kitty looked at the empty glass before her and then sighing stood. "Sam." she called out.

"Yes Miss Kitty." the craggy faced bar tender answered.

"Sam I'm going on up stairs. If you need me, call me will you." Kitty said, making her way across the bar room. She needed to be alone right now, with her thoughts so that she could get things figured out for both her and Matt's sake.

Festus Haggen was sitting at the table in the jail fixing a pair of socks. He had been so worried about his friends, Miss Kitty and Matthew when he had seen Miss Kitty coming riding back into town with that Will Stambridge fella. Festus had never see Matthew and Miss Kitty apart and seeing them that way had worried the hill man. He had even tried to get ole Doc to help him talk to them. Doc had dismissed the idea but Festus knew that he had been worried too. When Matt walked back into the jail, Festus looked up and smiled at his friend, "Everything alright Matthew?"

"Sure it is, Festus. Why wouldn't it be?" Matt said simply.

"Well I knewed that you and Miss Kitty weren't talkin so much right now, and I was just wonderin if you got things all cleared up?" Festus asked.

Matt didn't give his old friend a direct answer, "Don't worry Festus." he said.

In her private suite of rooms above the Longbranch, Kitty was preparing for a bath and a lot of hard thinking. Thinking about Matt and Will and herself and what she really wanted out of life. She thought of Matt first, remembering him as a young man, when they first met. _They_, had been a they for a long time now, almost eighteen years. Dodge City, knew them as a couple, a pair that had almost been split over something foolish, a missed trip, one in a long line of missed trips, missed dinners and other occasions. Kitty, understood, oh she had understood for a good long time, that Matt took his job and responsability as being marshal very seriously and she had resigned herself to second place to those things. She had sworn to herself from the very begining that she would not make Matt choose between her and his duties as a U.S. Marshal. She had hoped though, hoped that someday Matt would tire of wearing that god forsaken badge and they could leave Dodge City to go away and settle somewhere. But those were girlish dreams she realized now. As Kitty drew her bath she absently drug her fingers through the water slowly running the realization through her mind that it was those girlish dreams that had attracted her to Will in the first place. He was not attatched to any badge and he had purchased a farm, had been planning on settling down. Kitty smiled, she hadn't fallen in love with Will Standish, but rather she had falled in love with the idea that he could offer her her girlish dreams.

Ok folks so what do you think? I did update "A Match Made in Dodge" today so please if you are reading that check it out! I just watched this episode and I don't know it always bothered me before so I decided to do a fan fic. It most likely won't be long. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello all! Thanks for the reviews, I do so enjoy them. If anyone has any great inspirations as this goes along please pass them along. Thanks!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'em! NUTS!**

The next day after not seeing Matt again after he left the Longbranch the afternoon before, Kitty was getting things ready for dinner with Matt and thinking. It was only the second time that they hadn't been together through the night while Matt was in town of course; the first was after Matt had come back from Arizona. Kitty pushed that thought from her mind and continued preparing for her dinner with Matt and their...talk.

They had talked after Matt had returned from Arizona and explained how he had lost his memory and well, Kitty again pushed the unpleasant thoughts away from herself. She and Matt had both agreed that they wouldn't talk about that time again. However, Kitty couldn't get over it, she couldn't let go of all the images that had invaded her as Matt told her the story of losing his memory, the rancher Mike whatever her name was finding him, taking care of him and then ultimately sleeping with him. Kitty knew logically that it really wasn't Matt in bed with Mike that night that it was "Dan" but that didn't make the thought any less painful.

Kitty thought about her own time spent with Will. While they had never moved to the point of sleeping together, it hadn't been far from Kitty's mind. She sank into a chair and let the tears fall, it became clear to her now, she had just betrayed Matt. She had been just as betraying to him as he had to her when he had no memory of what he did and well she knew exactly what she was doing when she had spent time with Will.

Kitty pushed herself out of the chair and wiped her eyes. She couldn't have Matt seeing her like this, not and expect to get any talking done anyway. She finished the dinner preparations and then went to fix her make-up.

Matt was preparing for his dinner with Kitty. He had done a lot of thinking the night before, about admitting to Kitty what had happened with Mike, about his job and about Kitty herself. He didn't know what he was going to say to her tonight. He wasn't angry with her, he wasn't sure if he was even hurt by Kitty's actions. He gathered his jacket and his peace offering and headed towards the back stairs of the Longbranch.

At promptly seven o'clock Matt arrived at Kitty's door. He knocked and after hearing her call to him to come in stepped across the threshold of the room that had been as much his home the past 18 years as the jail in Dodge City had.

Just as Matt stepped in the door, Kitty came around the corner. "Hello Matt." she greeted.

"Hello Kitty." Matt said, then almost forgetting the flowers that he held in his hand, he said, "Uhm, these are for you." He felt like this was his first time having dinner with Kitty and that they hadn't known each other for years.

"Oh they're lovely Matt. Thank you so much." Kitty said, taking the flowers from Matt's hands. She placed them in the vase that was still setting on the dresser. The vase had contained wilted flowers from Will earlier that day until Kitty had thrown them out. Now looking at the ones that Matt had brought and picked himself she was almost sure, they looked so much nicer than the ones that Will had bought for her. "Dinner's ready Matt, if you're ready to eat." She said as she turned around gestured towards the fancily set table.

Matt nodded and moved to pull out Kitty's chair. After she was seated he moved to his own seat and sat down. "How have you been Kitty?" he asked as they began their meal.

"I'm alright." Kitty replied, looking at the meal at her plate more than at Matt. "How have you been Matt?" The nice polite conversation was making Kitty want to pull her hair and scream. She never, ever imagined that she and Matt would come to this, setting together making polite conversation like they hadn't known each other for years, like they didn't know each other on the most intimate level.

If Matt would have been able to read minds, he would have known that Kitty was feeling the same way that he was. He wanted to stop all this polite conversation and solve the problem that they were facing. He wanted to renew his relationship with Kitty. Yet he sat there keeping his thoughts and his feelings to himself.

They finished their dinner, the polite conversation driving them both crazy though both were too stubborn to admit it to the other. However, when the dessert dishes were pushed away, both of them leaving the peach cobbler's barely touched. Kitty was the first to speak. "Matt, I think we need to talk."

"I agree."

"What happened with Will…" Kitty began and then broke off, looking down and then starting again. "Nothing happened, Matt. Really."

Matt looked Kitty straight in the eye, blue meeting blue. "I know Kitty." He said never breaking the contact.

Kitty continued however, seemingly not even hearing Matt. "I was angry Matt. Probably the angriest with you as I have ever been. I was angry that you went back to deal with that testimony and I know, Matt, I know that it is silly. I know that you couldn't not go back but still I was angry and when I met Will on that stage, I guess he just seemed to be offering all the things that I felt that I had just lost."

"Kitty, I said that I understand." Matt repeated. He just wanted things to be alright between them again. To him it felt as if they had just gotten things back on track after the whole Mike ordeal and now this, this situation with Kitty and Will.

"I did what I did to lash out at you Matt. I'm sorry, so sorry Matt." Kitty continued, still ignoring Matt.

"I said that I understand Kit." Matt said, leaning across the table, so that he was closer to Kitty. He also grabbed her hands to bring her out of her trance. "I missed you last night." He whispered.

Kitty smiled then slightly, finally hearing him. "I missed you last night too."

_Alright folks—so do I continue or leave it as it is. I think as it is now it could probably stand on its own, and I didn't really mean for this to be a long, drawn out saga. Please review and let me know what you think. --CD_


	3. Chapter 3

_Ok folks. Thanks for the reviews and sadly, this will be the final chapter for this story. I wasn't going to write another chapter but I recieved enough reviews telling me that I should write another chapter and ensure that Matt and Kitty are really ok with each other. So to those of you that reviewed, this chapter is for you. --C._

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'em.**

Matt and Kitty finished their dinner and moved to the seate (sp?). "Would you like some brandy Matt?" Kitty asked.

"No. I'm fine."

Not needing to go get the brandy, Kitty sat down next to Matt, sitting down close to him, so that they were shoulder to shoulder. "We haven't had a night like this in a long time Matt." she said, enjoying the quiet of the evening. It was a rarity in Dodge.

"No we haven't." Matt said, moving his arm and sliding it around Kitty's shoulder. It was a rare thing for them to be able to sneak off and relax, but Matt was sure that Festus and Newly had things under control on the streets, and he had made the promise to himself that nothing was going to drag him away from Kitty tonight, she deserved his attention, their relationship deserved his attention.

Kitty snuggled into Matt's chest, her head laying over his heart and her read curls tickling her chin. "Matt?" she said, softly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for the way I acted." Kitty said, her words barely a whispher.

"I'm sorry too." Matt whisphered back, placing a soft kiss into Kitty's curls.

Kitty didn't say anything to that. She should have known the trip would be ruined, they always were, but it was Matt's upholding of the law that made him who he was, and that was one of the many reasons why Kitty loved him.

Snuggling closer to Matt, she let her forehead fall against the side of neck while her fingers moved across his chest to his badge. She fingered and thought to herself about the times that she had hated that badge. The things that Matt and his loyalty to that badge had caused her to loose and she found that she was ok with that. She was a better, stronger, person for her association with Matt Dillon and his badge.

Matt could feel Kitty playing with the badge on his chest and turned his head so that his lips gently caressed her forehead. He could tell what she was thinking as she played with that badge on his chest and he didn't blame her. If he was honest with himself, his loyalty to his badge and upholding the law had taken away a lot from him as well. He had given up the opportunity to have a home and family with Kitty because of that badge. He had also given up more than one special outing with her because of it as well. He knew that those were things that Kitty had missed out on, the home, the family and the outings with him. Thinking that way helped him diminish what little anger he had had when he found out about Kitty and Will. He had honestly told himself that if Kitty could find the happiness that she desired with another man then he would let her go. He wouldn't deny her happiness—ever.

They sat that way for a long time, not speaking, just holding each other and thinking their own thoughts, until Kitty spoke. "Matt."

"Hmm." Matt answered, absently running a hand from her shoulder to her waist, feeling the little buttons down the back of her dress.

"I forgive you." Kitty said simply.

Matt's response was with a kiss. He'd been waiting for days to do it and now he wished that he hadn't waited so long to do it.

Kitty responded just eagerly and soon she and Matt were engaged in a hungry mating of lips and tounges. The kiss spiraled and soon Matt and Kitty were pushing at each others clothing.

Later on, they lay together in the big four poster bed, their bodies sated and their souls back on track with each other. They were totally reconnected now and Kitty was sure that nothing would come between the two of them again.


End file.
